Unai Emery has said that the purchase of Denis Suarez will not change the role of German playmaker, Mesut Ozil in the team.
The Spaniard joined the team on a 6-month loan with an option to buy at the end of the season and has been said to be a versatile player who can play on the right, left and behind the striker.
Ozil has started just 13 games this season and ahead of the game against Manchester City, the press asked if Suarez’s signing will hamper the German. A notion Emery was quick to quash,
“It’s no change for him,” Emery said of Ozil. “[Suarez] is coming here because we have a lot of problems on the wing, we haven’t got players to play right or left – that is the reason.”
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Ozil is also an Arsenal captain and when asked if that would continue to be the case with the signing of Suarez, Emery took great pains to reassure the German.
“I think it is very clear, you [the media] mention it every week. We have four captains, I don’t know if you have come to my press conferences but I am going to repeat it but I think the others know it all.
“The first captain is Laurent Koscielny, he had injuries and couldn’t play. The second is Petr Cech, third is Aaron Ramsey, after this Mesut Ozil.
“When he is playing [with] Cech, Cech is captain; when he is playing Laurent, Laurent is captain; when he is playing with Aaron, Aaron is captain and when he is playing, and another is not captain, then he is captain.
“In our last match, Petr Cech, Laurent Koscielny and Aaron Ramsey didn’t play, so Mesut Ozil is captain. After that, they are Granit Xhaka and Nacho Monreal.”
On the actual role Suarez will play, Emery explained that his versatility means he will be mostly deployed on the wings.
“He’s a player with quality and I think he can help us with his quality, and also his ambition to do something important here. It’s a good challenge for him to help us.
“Firstly, he knows the language – he can speak English, which is important for us. Secondly, he played at Manchester City with the youth teams. He has a big experience in Spain, at Sevilla, at Villarreal, where he played in a semi-final against Liverpool in the Europa League.
“After, he played with Barcelona and was not in the first XI a lot of times, but he helped them there and played in the Champions League, in an important team with important players. I think for him it’s easy to adapt with us.
“We need every player to be OK and with the mentality to play on Sunday. We have maybe some injuries but we have other players who can play and help the team with their qualities, with the performances, with their condition. On Sunday, I am positive about the possibility of playing different players.
“He played with us at Sevilla as a left winger, at Villarreal as more of a right winger and at Barcelona, he plays inside and outside. The possibility and capacity is all different.”
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